Better Together
by Loreley Clay
Summary: Rei may or may not truly be sick, but regardless, Nagisa is determined to cure him. Fluff beyond belief. Reads and reviews are loved!


**:Author's Note:**

**Perhaps I lied... in my other NagiRei fic ("Invitation to?") I said that _that _particular story is very fluffy. Truly, compared to this one, it's quite the epic drama... This story just about wrote itself; it's one of the very few stories I manage to write in one sitting. I love it just as I love all of my stories, this one's just a bit more of a guilty pleasure!  
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**One reason I do very much appreciate this story: it not-so-subtly shows just how possessive my Nagisa is... XD**

**I hope you accept it for or in spite of its fluffiness! Reviews are wonderful, they help me tremendously!**

**~Loreley**

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><p>A sneeze could be caused by anything,<em> anything<em> really—a passing grain of pollen, an unfamiliar outdoor smell, a distant friend mentioning one's name—not necessarily a cold. No, not at all; such a conclusion would not be logical.

But then, when could Rei ever expect Nagisa to be logical?

It had been a single sneeze near the conclusion of their habitual walk home that had set him off; Rei had not, initially, even understood why he was accused of being sick. What had he done? Was he looking pale? Ah—he had sneezed.

Only sneezed!

Yet somehow, that single sneeze had led Nagisa to his home, where he is presently, tucked away in the kitchen where he can be heard singing some nonsensical song about penguins and the ocean. It also had led Rei to the couch, forced into pajamas, where he sits curled-up in a blanket that is overheating him surely to the point of actual fever.

"It's a _cold_, that's all," Rei insists, the very moment Nagisa reappears in the main room, laden with steaming tea. As if he had not attempted this argument many a time before—and Nagisa only responds with the same mantra.

"Rei-chan, I _know_ you're sick. There's no use trying to downplay it." He sets the tray bearing two cups of tea and a well-worn teapot on the floor safely away from Rei's slipper-clad feet.

Rei frowns. "At least save yourself the trouble…" he mumbles in vague protest, though he gives up straightaway, upon seeing the steadfastly determined look on his companion's face.

"No, Rei-chan. I am going to _fix_ you."

And with that, Rei finds a cup of tea in his hands, and he is alone again. What could he do? He sighs. Nagisa is going to fix him, whether or not there is truly something about him that requires repair.

Nagisa had taken Rei's single, unimportant sneeze and made it his personal project in the name of his love's wellness. He was declared sick, a nearly _hopeless_ case, his only hope resting in the fact that Nagisa was there to care for him. Despite the ludicrous nature of the situation, Rei cannot quite bring himself to put up too much of a fight. He hardly enjoys being fussed over, but being in the company of Nagisa in such close quarters could be... tolerable.

The next time Nagisa comes in to check on his patient, perhaps to report the status of the rice pudding he is slaving over in the kitchen, or to refill the freshly-emptied tea cups (for of course, in his mind, Rei would be far too ill to properly complete such a task) he fulfills Rei's unconscious wish for 'close quarters'.

Indeed, taking his role of nurse in a new direction, he abandons whatever his intended task had been and instead opts to press his work-warm palms to Rei's cheeks, and kiss him squarely on his flustered frown.

"Nagisa-kun!" Rei bursts as soon as he is able, uninhibited in his admonishment; "You aren't supposed to kiss a sick person! That will only get you sick as well!"

"But I can't get sick," Nagisa replies, wide-eyed. His hands still burn on Rei's face; their noses are nearly touching, the view afforded to them at this proximity only each other's look of surprise. "Because… you're mine."

He bounces off to his post in the kitchen before Rei can disprove his point—he must be thankful for this, however, for he has no solid reasoning to disprove that his apparent belonging to Nagisa would render his lover immune to the effects of a cold.

Once again, the facts of the situation reassert themselves—he is a prisoner of his couch, being fussed over by a rather impetuous and quite affectionate nurse. There is a reason he is not resisting, ignoring the complaints of his own pride. Rei draws the blanket up to his chin, his knees to his chest, resting comfortably in this nest of the couch. In spite of it all, he is infinitely pleased.

Rice pudding is presented shortly, along with ample servings of fresh tea and overeager kisses.

"Nagisa-kun, honestly—you're going to get yourself sick this way," Rei grimaces, turning away, only serving to redirect Nagisa's attention to his cheek. He does—rather subtly—set the pudding aside from his blanket-covered lap.

"That's not how it works, Rei-chan," Nagisa shakes his head solemnly, evidently disappointed that Rei has not caught onto this fact yet. "But, if that does happen, then we'll just have to get better together, won't we?" With this all set and decided, he settles himself into Rei's lap, arranging himself comfortably under the folds of the blanket.

Rei's immediate impulse is to laugh this notion away, to shove Nagisa out of his limited couch space, to deny his love's innocent declaration in the name of logic and higher intelligence, but—inexplicably, he does not.


End file.
